“Right now, there is a big tragedy which is going on. My family is safe because they moved west. We used to live right next to the border with Russia. Sometimes when I call them, I can hear a lot of artillery bombing.”
Stepan Dobrianskyi will be a senior next year at Churchill High School.
Dobrianskyi came to Churchill as a foreign exchange student from Ukraine this year—before the war began.
Midway through his junior year—his world stopped—calls home became even more important and sporadic.
His family is mostly safe now.
But he’s struggled with guilt and frustration of being here with so much chaos going on back home in his home country.
He’ll stay at Churchill for his senior year because it’s safer.
Also, all the airports in his home country are closed. So, he doesn’t have a way back home.
“It’s another year without my friends, without my parents. It’s kind of sad, but it’s also not a bad option because I will still have a diploma and my high school education.”
He’s reserved when he talks about the war.
He’s hurt, angry and understandably nervous.
But talking about Churchill -- his mood changes.
“I like the Churchill spirit. It’s kind of like a family. All of my teachers are really supportive, especially my history teacher, Mr. Ghrist, and my English teacher Miss Brand. They always were talking with me and really listening to me. Ms. Brand asked me to write an article about Ukraine. And I really do appreciate that because it kind of made people know more about my country and the situation. I love teachers here.”
Stepan isn’t the only NEISD student from Ukraine.
Since the war, a few more students have been able to connect with family here and find refuge.
Along with the Foreign Exchange Program, NEISD has invested in a Newcomer Program.
It provides support and a safe learning environment for arriving refugees or asylees to begin acclimating to U.S. schools.
“We have specialized teachers who are English as a Second Language (ESL) certified. Their focus is helping them to learn what U.S. schools are like-- being able to help acquire language and still be able to acquire the academics,” said NEISD Assistant Director of Bilingual and ESL Newcomers Kerry Haupert. “I mean, it’s still high expectations, but it allows the kids to truly understand what the U.S. school system is. Then, being able to help them, over time, be able to then transition into a general ESL classroom.”
With everything going on around the world, the program continues to grow.
NEISD currently serves hundreds of newcomers—offering them classes with one-on-one support from ESL teachers and more.
“We have counselors. We have family specialists. We try and pair them up with someone who speaks their language. This year, we happened to have a student who spoke Ukrainian and Russian,” said Bush Middle School Counselor Michael Ansley.
So, when Bush received a student who fled from Ukraine this year, they were ready.
“We try to find keyboards in their language, and we prepare it. Or we put these things over the keyboard so they can use a keyboard in their language when they’re on the computer. We will get them dictionaries. Things like that.”
But it’s not just students from Ukraine; newcomers come to NEISD from all over the world; Afghanistan, Somalia, Congo and Vietnam.
They speak 60 different languages, and NEISD works to connect these students with interpreters, counselors and resources to help them succeed in school and in their new life.
It was a need in the community, and NEISD found a way to help.
“I think it’s an asset to have these families from all these different countries come in, and there’s so much that we can learn from them,” said Haupert. “And I think the biggest thing is no matter if you speak the language or not, by showing them the language of love, they can do so much and hold high expectations for them and their families. All they want is just the opportunity to learn and be able to go to school because many of the kids never had that opportunity before coming here to North East.”
